NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police busted a gang and arrested 10 people, including a doctor and four women, for their alleged involvement in kidnapping and trafficking children from bus stops and railway stations and selling them to childless couples.
A six-month-old boy was rescued, and five other trafficked children were traced and recovered, officials said.
The accused have been identified as Dr. Kamlesh Kumar (33), Veerbhan (30), Kalicharan (45), Sundar (35), Krishna (28), Preeti (30), Ritu (40), Jyotsna (39), Rubina Agarwal alias Rachita (42), and Nikhil Kumar (22), all residents of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the complaint, on August 22, a man travelling from UP to Behror stopped at ISBT Sarai Kale Khan with his wife and four children. While the family was sleeping at platform number-2, he realised around 11 pm that his 6-month-old boy was missing, following which he approached police.
“Two men were seen carrying a child in suspicious condition in the CCTV. However, we could not find any leads after they exited the ISBT. We scanned mobile numbers active in the area during that time and zeroed in on four to five such numbers,” an officer said.
“One of the accused was identified as Veerbhan, who was located in Pinahat Dehat, Fatehabad. A police team went there and apprehended him,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.
During questioning, Veerbhan disclosed that Rambaran had asked him to kidnap a five- to six-month-old child for sale. Along with his father-in-law Kalicharan, he abducted the boy around 10:30 pm and took him to Fatehabad. Kalicharan was subsequently arrested.
The investigation revealed that the two, along with Rambaran, handed over the child to Kamlesh, owner of a hospital in Agra, UP. Police raided the hospital and arrested Kamlesh, who confessed to selling the infant to Sundar. Sundar was later nabbed at the UP-Rajasthan border after a 50-kilometre chase while trying to flee.
Sundar disclosed that he had sold the child to Krishna and Preeti, who were also arrested. Acting on his lead, police recovered the kidnapped boy from the couple. They further revealed that the child was to be sold to Jyotsna through mediator Ritu. Krishna and Preeti also admitted that they had sold a baby to a couple in Nainital, Uttarakhand. The infant was traced and recovered. Ritu was subsequently arrested through technical surveillance.
Based on Krishna’s disclosure, Jyotsna was also apprehended. She admitted to selling a two-month-old boy to a family in Agra, who was later recovered. Sundar had sold another child through Rachita, who was arrested, leading to the recovery of a 10-day-old boy from another Agra family. Sundar revealed that Nikhil had handed over a one-year-old girl to him, which he sold to a family in Fatehabad in August. The girl was rescued.
Officials said that appropriate sections of the BNS relating to kidnapping, trafficking, conspiracy and the Juvenile Justice Act have been invoked and legal action will follow.
Man approaches police after his child goes missing
According to the complaint, on August 22, a man travelling from UP to Behror stopped at ISBT Sarai Kale Khan with his wife and four children. While the family was sleeping, he realised around 11 pm that his 6-month-old boy was missing, following which he approached police.